Terry Flynn is a specialist in Public Relations, Corporate Communications and especially Crisis Management. He gained his initial communications experience with government then honed it while building his consulting company that provided communications guidance to corporations – especially those in crisis. He currently teaches university students how to become more effective communicators.

Insights from This Interview

Think about the bumps in the road

Things happen – trains wreck, planes crash and oil spills

People, systems and government cause crisis

I don’t like the term Spin Doctor because it’s about shading the truth

Julia and Heather are both students at MG DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University.

This is the fifth year for the Focus 2040 competition. This program is open to college and university students across Canada from any field of study. No charge to register.

Students are challenged to envision and predict then convey their thoughts about the workplace of the year 2040.

Description from the Focus 2040 website…

“It’s 2040. As you’re getting ready for work, you glance out your bedroom window and you ask yourself, “Who would have ever predicted the world to look like it does now?” The answer? You. You are the business leaders of tomorrow. You have the imagination to bring forth new ideas. You have the potential to change the world. Together, we must focus… because you are the future.”

Prizes of $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000 for the top three winners.

Corporate internships will be offered.

Additional benefits to students:

Opportunity to develop and demonstrate their abilities to think creatively, research, support their ideas and convey those ideas in writing and orally before a group

Connecting and networking with students, professors and corporate representatives

A bonus differentiating item for your resume

Deadline for this year’s competition to register is January 31, 2014

The final phase along with the announcement of the top contestants will take place at the Burlington Convention Centre on March 20, 2014.

Trained to become a basketball referee
Paid 75 cents to referee his first game and told that he was lousy and would never make it as a referee.

Ten years later he refereed the basketball Olympic game

If you want to be respected, learn to listen.

Fluke Transport

Fluke Transport is the most challenging hat he wears. Trucking is not for the faint of heart. It is high volume with low profit and fraught with complications. It depends on people and trucks – both which occasionally break down.

I knew nothing about trucking before I bought the trucking company

How did he buy Fluke Transport with no money?
How did he add 20 trucks with no money?

Everybody has a hot button – a deal making button. It’s something other than money.

Entrepreneurs and Business Success

I didn’t want to work for a dumb boss.

Hire people smarter than you

No such thing as raw inborn talent. Entrepreneurs learn and grow. They are built.

My entrepreneurship qualities:
Drive to success
Fear of failure

Challenges are speed bumps. I had to practice overcoming speed bumps
Failure is a learning experience

My business approach was simple – revenue must exceed expenses

I’m 68 years old and work 100 hours a week. But it’s not work because its fun.

Contacts are everything. That’s why community involvement is important. Every person I meet is smarter than me in something.

When you work 20 hours a day it’s amazing what good luck comes your way.

You can buy a business even if you don’t have any money.

You need a business plan and a plan B and Plan C

You need a stable of mentors

You can’t be a winner without a team

Sometimes you have to have Onions

About Fox 40

The Fox 40 whistle is sold in 140 countries

The Fox 40 whistle was conceived out of frustration with the existing product

In Canada they don’t like change. We were selling in 35 countries before we sold any in Canada. The first Canadian customer commented that “I read about you in Sports Illustrated. If the Americans like you, it must be good.”

James Burchill is CEO, Business Fusion Marketing and Founder of the Social Fusion Network.

About James Burchill

“C” Level Management Expertise

Prior to starting his own company, James was Vice President of IT & Consulting for an international management and recruiting firm in southern Ontario. There he lead numerous multi-million dollar development projects and managed a team of more than a dozen skilled web programmers and designers.

Internationally Traveled

Born in England and now a Canadian citizen too, James has lived in Europe, Africa and Australia and along with credentials in public speaking, psychology, communications, automation and technology, James is a certified Neuro Linguistics Practitioner. He learned the craft of penmanship at England’s prestigious London School of Writing. James is a former member of Mensa (the high IQ society) and has the little badge somewhere to prove it…

Insights from the interview with James Burchill

It’s the People

Technology changes quickly and often and people mistakenly obsess on the technology

Instead they should start with the core of communication and that is people

It’s not about the technology, its how you can use it to connect at a richer level

We are a social species, we want to connect

Psychology is more important than technology

As a species we do not share information unless it has survival value. We remember information and stories that helps us survive.

Small Business

Small business often sucks at marketing

Small business is seduced by the glitter of big corporate brands

They need to connect with their marketplace

A market is a conversation and it moves

Small Business and Social Media

Be authentic, reveal a flaw

Imperfection is attractive

Important to market on multiple channels

Combine old school face-to-face marketing with Social Media for best results

Social Fusion Network

I held an event that hosted over 500 people using Social Media to attract them

There are many networking groups – why dare to start another one?

We work on the Freemium model – making money from advertising

This started as an experiment and now has seven chapters

I wrote a business plan after we generated serious buzz, but the plan predicted failure

Look at business that is different from yours and steal ideas for your business.

At age 18, Bill Johnson started flipping burgers at a McDonalds in London, Ontario. It was painful to be behind the grill on a Friday night while his friends ventured out for a night of socializing. When they stopped by for burgers they laughed at him and the funny outfit with the paper hat.

They’re not laughing anymore. Bill leveraged hard work and a little luck to move up through the ranks. After serving as President of McDonald’s Mexico he returned home to become President, CEO and Chairman of McDonald’s Canada.

It was a challenging 35 year career that equipped Bill with powerful lessons for career success. He retired in his early fifties. He now generously shares those life lessons with university students and almost anyone who wants to grow their career.

Insights from this interview

McJobs – that term angered Bill so much that he went on the TV news to defend retail work. Today he’s adopted “I am McJobs” as his banner and website.

You don’t need to invent the solution. Somewhere in the world someone has gone through this before.

The expensive lesson from guacamole burgers

Contrast

Bill Johnson didn’t go to college or university but today he lectures to MBA and EMBA students at Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

Jim Estill was CEO of Synnex Canada at the time of this interview (June 2008). Synnex Canada with sales of about $2 billion is a distributer of computer and electrical products. Jim started EMJ Data from the trunk of his car in 1979 and grew sales to $375 million 25 years later when he sold to Synnex Canada and became the CEO.

Interesting facts about Jim Estill

Started a painting business while in high school

Author of the book, Time Leadership

Started his CEO blog in May 2005

Marathon runner

Insights from this interview

Started selling from the trunk of his car because that’s what he had at the time

A growth maniac – set and revised sales goals at $100M to $200M to $500M

There is a right business opportunity for everybody of every size

For selling – “no” means “not now”

Every strength is a weakness and every weakness is a strength

Being healthy is a good time management tool

Hire for cultural fit and integrity

Seek out successful people to learn from them

Start, do it, build momentum. Success breeds success

Fail often, fail fast, fail cheap. I want to have failures because it means I’m stretching

Alan Bottomley is a Business Coach and an Ambition Facilitator. He is a principal with The Achievement Centre and a champion of OwnerShip Thinking.

About Alan Bottomley

Alan graduated with an Engineering degree in Geo-physics then obtained his CA which led to a 31 year career as a partner with Price Waterhouse Coopers. With a solid education in working with “things and numbers” Alan reached an epiphany when he started to manage and lead people. He discovered his passion for working with people.

That same analytical mind that enabled him to understand the intricacies of engineering and accounting helped him address the challenges of understanding, managing and leading people.

Insights from this interview

Ownership Thinking is a methodology of encouraging employees to think and act like owners.

Compare the list of things that owners think about to what employees think about. They are different but not in conflict.

Implementing OwnerShip Thinking in a company results in both dramatic culture change and improved profitability within two to four hours.

The first major obstacle is for the business owner to give up control and reveal important information to the employees.

The second major obstacle is for the employees to realize that they aren’t being punished. They are simply invited to identify problems and opportunities.

Your host, George Torok, exposes the common and damaging myths and lies about public speaking. Too many lies are spread in the form of “advice” that hurt your speaking performance. George Torok exposes the lies, reveals the truth and tells you what to do to be a better public speaker.

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Some of the lies that George will expose and help you with:

Be humble during your introduction.

Start your presentation with a joke.

When you get nervous, stare at a spot on the back wall.

When you get nervious, imagine the audience in their underwear.

Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Dress casual.

Too much practice will make you look un-natural.

Apologize when you make a mistake.

Be sure to look serious.

Tell them everything you know about the topic.

Lies – all of them. Listen to discover why and what to do instead.

George reveals 15 top myths about public speaking. When you listen you might notice that number seven was left out. It’s a big one and will be covered another time.

Interview with Fred Eisenberger, President and CEO of The Canadian Urban Institute and former Mayor of Hamilton.

Fred Eisenberger was appointed President and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute in December of 2010. His career includes serving as a Councillor for the City of Hamilton and the Region of Hamilton-Wentworth for nearly a decade in the 1990s. In 2001, he was appointed by the Federal Government as the inaugural Chairman of the new Hamilton Port Authority providing strategic and operational leadership to one of Canada’s largest inland Ports and, in 2006, Eisenberger was elected Mayor of Hamilton and served until November of 2010. As Mayor, he championed a wide array of successful initiatives promoting sustainability, urban revitalization and economic transformation in a diverse regional city of more than 500,000 people. His private sector experience as Government and Community Relations President for ECS Consulting (2000-2006) was focussed on providing public and private entities consulting services in strategic planning, business development, public relations and communications.

What is the Canadian Urban Institute?

The Canadian Urban Institute is a not-for-profit organization that specializes in researching and championing urban issues.

Because so much of the world’s population lives in urban areas, the CUI helps Canadian and International urban leaders make more informed decisions about urban planning and economic development.

The Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) is a Toronto-based not for profit organization with a national and international reach. Through our work we seek to create a world of thriving, sustainable, harmonious and engaged urban regions

Some of the countries that CUI is working in includes Jamaica, Phillipines, Cuba and Ethiopia.

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Insights from this interview

Two important questions that need to be addressed about regional economic development are:

How do you organize your assets?

How do you promote your assets to the world?

What under-valued asset does Iloilo, Iloilo have to offer?

Two big issues that urban centers need to review are their approaches to energy and water.

The Canadian Urban Institute provides clients with independent and unbiased data and advice. Their strength is that they will tell you what you need to know – not necessarily what you want to hear.

As a not-for-profit, the CUI has both advantages and disadvantages in the marketplace. But they still need to sell the value of their services.

Personal insights from Fred Eisenberger

Leadership is not about managing. It’s about taking the organization somewhere.

It all comes down to relationships.

On economic development: Give the people the resources and get out there and beat the bushes.

On politics as a career

There is always both the business side and the personal side to relationships.

Politics can be a career and business killer. It consumes you fully.

Make sure you are ready to take the slings and arrows of politics.

Have a plan B.

Interview with Fred Eisenberger, President of the Canadian Urban Institute, on the weekly radio show, Business in Motion with host George Torok.

George Torok, the host of Business in Motion, kicks off the New Year by offering these Top Ten Tips to Make 2012 a More Productive and Profitable New Year.

Here is a summary of the top ten list.

1. Fail Fast, Fail Often and Fail Cheap

Be willing to make, and learn from, your mistakes. Treat mistakes as part of the growing process – not an end. Think ahead by limiting the cost of possible failures. This tip is courtesy of Jim Estill.

2. Be Clear on Your Purpose

Why are you doing this? Ask that question of yourself more often before you invest your time, money or effort. Clarify the purpose of each meeting, promotion or decision before you commit.

You will never be perfect. Chasing perfection will result in repeated frustration. Instead strive to be better every time. Then you can experience a chain of small wins and progressive successes.

5. Stop Doing Things

What do you need to stop doing to allow you to do more of what you really want to do? Write your “Stop doing list”. This is as important as your “To do list.”

6. Scare Yourself

Face at least one thing that scares you. That’s how you grow. Courage is not being without fear – it is facing your fear. You’ll discover more about yourself when you scare yourself.

7. Ask Better Questions

Ask better questions of yourself, others and the world around you. You’ll be amazed at the answers you’ll get. It takes more thought to ask good questions than to answer them.

8. Review and Use Your Resources

You have resources that you aren’t fully using. Check your tangible and especially intangible resources for new opportunities. You already have what you need to succeed. Check your pockets.

9. Visit Other Worlds

Life is best observed through a kaleidoscope. Discover other cultures, opinions and perspectives. Volunteer for a charity, read about history and listen to other views without judging. Walk around the block with your eyes open.

10. Accept the Mess in Your Head

You are the best person to deal with the mess in your head. That will include a mix of ideas, questions, unfinished thoughts, self doubts, fears, anxieties, hopes, dreams…

No one else will ever know about the mess in your head. And you can work to organize some of that mess.

It is a fictional story about the lessons of personal finance as seen through the eyes of a humours disfunctional Canadian family.

Who is the book for?

Individuals aged 20 to 40 who are in the early stages of financial planning. They will discover in an easy to understand, non-intimidating story why they should care about financial planning and what they should do about it.

Insights from this interview with Robert Gignac

First simple lesson is to live below your means. If you make $100, then spend no more than $90. Its the only way to enjoy a future that allows you to do what you will want to do.

How do you make your dream real? First write it down. “What is your goal?” is the most important chapter in the book.

The best advice that Robert received from his financial planner was to start by saving $25 a month.

To save your money, put it where it is not easy to get at.

People will call you lucky if you are doing the things that they want to do but they believe that they can’t.

Robert wrote the first draft of the book long hand because while doing that he was not tempted to stop and edit. His brain told him to just keep writing and edit later.

Rich does not necessarily mean lots of money. One definition of “rich” is the density of hue in colour

Founder of Second Cup – which became the largest chain of gourmet coffees and teas in Canada.

Co-Founder of ProShred Security – a company that pioneered the entire industry of on-site document destruction

Author of “When All You Have is Hope”

In 1985 he co-founded Street Kids International, an organization developed to help homeless children in third world countries, through education and self-reliance programs. A few years later, he became the founding Chair of War Child (Canada), an organization that provides assistance against suffering and abuse of children in war affected countries. In the same year, Frank co-founded the Canadian Landmine Foundation, an organization that raises funds for the dismantling of minefields around the world

Officer of the Order of Canada

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Insights from this radio interview

Second Cup started in 1975 selling dry coffee in bags to take home. That was a disaster.

So it morphed into selling gourmet liquid coffee by the cup.

Secrets about creating a new industry:

Find a place where no one else is. It’s risky. People will call you foolish. You need to be courageous and have a vision.

Currently building houses in Brazil. Lots of opportunity there.

I made lots of mistakes. That’s how I learned.

The longest I stay at something is 10 years. Then I get bored and move on.

Radio interview with Bruce McDougall, on Business in Motion with host, George Torok.

Who is Bruce McDougall?

He is the founder and president of The McDougall Group, a financial planning company in Burlington, Ontario. A past president of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce he is a long time active Rotarian. He is a marathon runner, tri-athlete, a past competitive racquetball player and an avid golfer.

Insights from this interview

“Building wealth requires discipline and a plan. You don’t need a lot of money to start.”

“Biggest mistake that people make is starting too late.”

“Biggest myth is that you need to take big risks with your money.”

“The hardest thing in sales is the ability to get up off the floor and keep going. When hiring sales people – that’s difficult to test for.”

“As a financial planner you are really a sales person. You are running a business and every business needs sales.”

“When I was interviewing wait staff for my restaurant I would try to intimidate them to test how easily they might be intimidated by customers.”

“How do you choose a financial planner? You have to like the person.”

“Most entrepreneurs have had three or four failures. Don’t dwell on it. Learn from the mistakes and move on.”

“Get inspiration from keeping people around you who are experiencing similar experiences.”

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Click below to listen to, or download this audio interview with Bruce McDougall.

Infinity is a full service communications agency specializing in public relations, branding and social media strategies. We help our clients “Get Noticed and Stay Noticed”, through focused communication programs designed to build brand awareness and drive revenue growth.

One of the best ways to reach your target audiences is to use a combination of traditional public relations strategies offline, while leveraging social media and web strategies online.

We are living in a connected world and it is important to bridge the conversation both online and offline.

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Insights and excerpts from this interview with Alan McLaren of Infinity Communications

Purpose of marketing is building the brand to be top of mind.

Common mistake on the web is not connecting the dots.

Key question is, does more traffic mean more business? That is the bottom line.

Marketing is not scientific. One plus one does not equal two.

Half the time, we turn prospective clients away because the fit is not right.

Red Flag Deals was one of our proud success stories.

I hate doing the numbers – but you need to do that.

As Co-CEOs we each have our strengths and defined roles.

Interview on Business in Motion with radio show host George Torok

Click below to listen to, or download the interview with Alan McLaren.

Kathy Bardswick has been with the Co-Operators for 32 years. She worked her way through various roles with the company. A working mom with four children she was inspired by her own mother (with six children) who encouraged her to pursue her dreams. Kathy earned her MBA at McMaster University.

Interview with Tom Beakbane, President and founder of Beakbane Retail Connections.

Beakbane Retail Connections is a marketing firm that helps business develop their brands and bring their products to the market.

Tom Beakbane started his company 23 years ago and employs 11 people. He was born in the UK and raised in Worchester – the same as the famous sauce.

Tom is a renaissance man. He lived in Kenya and France. He studied Neurophysiology and Bio-Chemistry and would sneak into art classes. He worked as a Sous Chef in southern France. Now his job in the kitchen is to wash up.

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Insights from this interview with Tom Beakbane

“What I love the most is when someone comes in with a raw idea.”

“Distilling complexity into a single message.”

“We like coming up with a good name.”

“The fewer things that you ask people to remember, the more likely they will remember it.”

George Torok is a bestselling author of “Secrets of Power Marketing”. He is the host of “Business in Motion” He is a specialist in helping small and medium sized business gain an unfair advantage over the competition.

George Torok offers insights and ideas for small and medium sized buisness on branding and building relationships.

The Oakes Group provides career advice to executives and professionals. Beth Oakes has worked most if not all her career in the business of human resources and human capital. She previously held the positions of Managing Partner at Millar Dallas – an outplacement firm and Executive Vice President at DHR – an executive search firm.

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Insights from this interview with Beth Oakes

In spite of her corporate experience, Beth has always seen herself as an entreprenuer.

Entrepreneurs can make their own decisions and they can fall by them.

This industry of coaching executives and managers is new within the last 5 to to 10 years and it is growing. Corporate executives and managers have much less time to mentor and guide their staff.

Coaching can be like being a parent…

As an entrepreneur you worry about the cash flow and you can be lonely.

Advice to an entrepreneur: Write a good business plan and create an advisory board.

Steve Petrovic is an inspiring man in career motion. He graduated with a degree in science and became a government commercial specialist working on security and import/export issues. He went back to school to earn his MBA specializing in IT. That led to a few years in IT consulting.

A frank discussion with his dad and uncle encouraged him to start and run his own business in metal fabricating.

Later an interest in exploring opportunities in his family’s homeland of Croatia led him to accept the role as country manager for an international executive recuiting firm. That led to an opportunity to join a modernized 100 year-old steal mill.

COM DEV produces electronics for satellites. A Canadian company and world leader in satellite technology, based in Cambridge, Ontario and employing over 1,000 people.

Mike Pley is an Engineering graduate of McMaster University.

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Insights & excerpts from this interview with Mike Pley.

We have to build something that will be super dependable for 15 years.

You can’t make repair calls in space.

Our equipment is on 80% of the over 650 satellites up there.

We don’t go after the low cost world where price is king.

We want to encourage the next generation to become astronauts and engineers.

The next big project we are working on is the James Webb Telescope which is scheduled to launch in 2014. It will see far more than the Hubble. The James Webb Telescope is seeking to see first light – the beginning of galaxies.

Walter Booth started at Timberland as a young Project Engineer more than 40 years ago. He rose to the rank of President, bought the company, sold the company and is now Chairman. He is an engineering graduate of McMaster University. He has donated at least $3 Million to the Faculty of Engineering.

The Timberland Group grew signifcantly during those years. Originally a company that manufactured winches for the logging industry, they now provide special winches and hoists for mining, power distribution, underwater exploration and off-shore oil.

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Insights from this 30-minute interview with Walter Booth:

“The business still excites me after 40 years.”

“They hired me because I had experience in the ski lift business.”

“Buying the company – we worked on that deal for at least a year. You want it to move faster but it just took longer.”

“My boss encouraged me to join the Young Presidents Organization. I got to hang around successful business owners.”

“As chairman my chief role is mentoring and developing the new owners.”

CableTest Systems tests the wiring systems of military jets, high speed trains and the Space Shuttle (the exterior fuel tank has 8,000 connenctions). They provide a complex version of an electritian’s multi meter.

Ray Simmons has been the president and owner of CableTest Systems for the past nine years. Previously he was President of CRS Robotics. After a two year “retirement” he got edgy and longed to get back into business so he bought CableTest Systems.

Insights from this interview with Ray Simmons:

“Going public with CRS … was not me. That’s why I retired.”

“Retirement was quite challenging. I felt like I was disconnected.”

“55% of our business last year was in Europe. Asia is our next frontier. We like India.”

“Regrets? Two…”

“I think that in a technologly company a president that is totally focussed on technology is dangerous.”

Interview with Howard Shearer, President and CEO of Hitachi Canada. He is the first non-Japanese to be president of the company. He seems to thrive on cultural diversity. He is orginally from Jamaica. He is also a people person. The two characteristics probably go hand-in-hand.

Howard has worked at Hitachi for over 25 years.

Hitachi globally employs over 300,000 people.

Hitachi is a strong technology company that operates in several markets including: consumer electronics, automotive electronics, computer storage, energy, medical, biotechnology, and high speed trains.

Insights from this interview with Howard Schearer:

“We’re in the business of serving customers.”

“There is no Hitachi car, but we are a major component in cars.”

“Business in all about relatioinships and that’s not done with products.”

“I don’t screen my calls. If it’s good news I want to hear it. If it’s bad news I want to hear it first.”

, founder of EvanCarmichael.com – the online magazine for entrepreneurs. The site receives nearly 600,000 visitors per month. It has the world’s largest collection of interviews and stories about famous entrepreneurs.

Insights from the interview with Evan Carmichael:

“Donald Trump was our biggest target.”

“Entrepreneurs are arsonists, they like to light fires.”

“If you only had 24 hours to work on your business – don’t spend it all in one day. Instead spend one hour a day for 24 days.”

Interview with change agent and specialist, Peter De Jager. Peter is a consultant and professional speaker that helps organizations handle change effectively. He helped the world’s leading organizations successfuly handle the Y2K challenge.

Insights from this interview with Peter De Jager:

“The purpose of skiing is not to get to the bottom of the hill. It is falling down the hill with the most grace.”

“Being incompetent is normal – especially when dealing with change.”

“Don’t get into the water until you have learned to swim – is bad advice. How else will you learn to swim?”